Category: Interviews and features

Podcast: ‘In Conversation: Textiles and Fashion’

You can now listen to a full recording of ‘In conversation: Textiles and Fashion’, an event organised by Goldsmiths Design and the Goldsmiths Fashion Research Unit, which took place on 30 June 2015.

This event marked the recent publication of ‘Textiles and Fashion: Materials, Design and Technology’, a volume in the Woodhead Publishing Series in Textiles, edited by Rose Sinclair, a Lecturer in Textiles in the Design Department at Goldsmiths. The book gathers 31 chapters by authors from around the world who are both academics and practitioners, including chapters by Rose Sinclair, Mo Tomaney, Philip Richards, and Dr Julia Gaimster. The event was held in the Special Library collections archive at Goldsmiths, University of London. Continue reading “Podcast: ‘In Conversation: Textiles and Fashion’”

‘xvshow’ interviews: Leon Eckert, ‘Human Algorithm’

Leon Eckert explaining the ideas and workings of his graduation project ‘Human Algorithm’ at xvshow, this year’s Undergraduate Degree exhibition for Goldsmiths Design:

This is what Leon had to say on his experience as a Goldsmiths Design student:

“What I found amazing was how easy it was to find people that would collaborate [on the final year project]. My background is not computer science, nor is it dance, but I had ideas combining these two [disciplines], and it was incredibly easy to find people at Goldsmiths that would help me with understanding, using and programming genetic algorithms. At the same time, I worked with six different dancers,which I found at Goldsmiths or through Goldsmiths, to understand how dancers work, improvise and develop movements, and apply this to their performance. It was amazing, and I think it represented the philosophy of the [Design] course at Goldsmiths. My outcome should never be limited by the skills I have. I do not want to think of ideas only within graphic or product design, I want to be able to have ideas on dance and computer science and put them into practice with exactly these disciplines. That’s what Goldsmiths taught me, made possible for me and made me believe in.”

Leon will continue his studies with a Masters programme in New York. You can find even more information on his graduation project on the Genetic Dance Algorithm website.

Interview with alumna Zara Arshad of Design China

If you’re interested in knowing more about Chinese design, you will surely benefit from a conversation with alumna Zara Arshad, who has been working in China and writing about its designers and their output for a while now. We interviewed Zara on her international experience and other things:

Q: What was it like to study Design at Goldsmiths? What were you expecting when you first started out and how did reality compare to your expectations?

A: Studying on the BA (Hons) Design programme at Goldsmiths College, University of London was definitely the best fit for me, since I had just completed my IB Diploma at the British International School in Jakarta, Indonesia and, therefore, arrived at the course from a very academic background. I really didn’t know what to expect though. The programme was exceptionally strong from a conceptual point of view and very flexible: we were encouraged to move across various (design) disciplines for studio projects, and use these opportunities to experiment, rather than to develop a specific style too early on. Overall, I am very grateful to Goldsmiths Design for the “way of thinking” it taught me. Continue reading “Interview with alumna Zara Arshad of Design China”